As the common saying goes, “There’s no “I” in team.” No I agree. But great teamwork requires many “eyes” to be successful doesn’t it.

Consider a slam dunk when eye contact from the passer sends the dunker to the rim. Consider a quarterback who eyes his receiver indicating what pattern he should run.Consider the eye contact you make when meeting that very pretty girl.Our eyes connect us to everything. Nature … reading … relationships. Everything.I’ve noticed, as I’m sure you have, that today? … the frequency of eye contact between individuals has lessened. Considerably. Speed of thought, activity … really the speed of everything may drive some of this. Machines like iPhones, IPads (“I”s I call them) have captured much of our interactivity. Some of this is good … a lot of it is not. These “I”s have won over our attention to each other … by making true eye contact.

Disagree? Walk down a city street, any street today. You know. It can be an obstacle course just dodging people with their “I”s … their phones in their gaze. Go to a party. Long eye contact with another while conversing. For me? Not often. Then I just may be uninteresting. At the lunch table with family or friends? In the workplace … before a meeting starts? While grandchildren visit. On and on.Less eye contact. More “I” connection.

I’ve always admired those chosen few who have the gift of actually “listening” with their eyes. Their eyes tell you they are interested in what you’re saying. They could even pass a pop quiz following your conversation!But there is real danger in this trend of “I” over usage. Decades ago smoking was banned when it was found to cause cancer. God knows what harm our possessiveness with machines is causing today. Maybe it will take decades too before we say, “Oh, we need to restrain ourselves from overusing technology because we’ve learned ————— …

For me? Any time I can make eye contact with another? I relish it. Believe the Lord gave us two eyes as his gift for realizing, seeing all his creation. All that is.May our eyes win out over the “I”s …